Mandžukic takes Croatia to maiden World Cup final

Most football fans may be filled with excitement as we’re reaching the end of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with one huge game coming up. At the same time, there are quite a few that will be very sad that this tournament is coming to an end, because this has easily been one of the best major international football tournaments ever.

In the first semi-final, Belgium were highly dominant. They looked good enough to be playing in the World Cup final, but one goal from Samuel Umtiti was enough to allow France to progress to the final. They then had to wait on the result of the England vs Croatia semi-final, which took place last night.

England opened the scoring in the 5th minute, thanks to a brilliant free-kick from Kieran Trippier. This gave them an early lead and also boosted their confidence. However, Croatia came out much stronger in the second half, dominating the first 15-20 minutes of the half.

They were dominating possession but weren’t able to get past the defenders. However, Ivan Perisic finally got one through, with an acrobatic touch in the 68th minute and this goal became a very controversial one as it could have been considered a foul since his boot was head high. However, it was ruled a goal and the teams went into full-time 1-1.

The first half of extra time went goalless but the second didn’t. It was the 9th minute of the game when Mario Mandžuki? was left unmarked and he put Croatia in the lead. 2-1. He also put the England players and fans in depression, as they only had 10 minutes to strike level. They couldn’t, and Croatia progressed to their first ever final, playing in their fifth World Cup! Full match highlights here.

They will now take on the mighty French team in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final. Keep reading GutshotMagazine.com for more major sporting updates like this.